The Adult Religious Education (ARE) Team offers pre-service presentations held on the first and third Sundays of each month of the church year. Coffee and treats are served starting from 8:45 am, with the presentation (including discussion and Q&A) running from 9:00 – 10:15 am. The Annex can be accessed through the garden entrance to the church on Aurora St. or through 208 E. Buffalo St for elevator access.

Seeking Truth in Today’s Complex-and Often Manipulated Media World
Sunday February 19 at 9 am in the Annex

FUSIT member Cyndy Scheibe is a Dana Professor in Psychology at Ithaca College teaching child development and media literacy for more than 35 years. She is also the founder and co-director of Project Look Sharp, a media literacy initiative working with teachers and librarians around the world. In addition, she coordinates the media literacy minor at the College. Cyndy will discuss how we can navigate the news, the internet, advertising, and political messages without feeling like our heads are going to explode. Are there some sources we can trust, and others that we should stay away from? With social media algorithms, deep fakes, and AI Chatbots, can we ever tell what’s real and what’s not? And how do our own experiences, attitudes, and biases influence what media messages we believe and what we choose to share? We’ll explore these questions, and how the media literacy skills of inquiry and reflection can help.